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Monthly Archives: March 2013

It is wonderful to have a talented friend like Allison as one of our teachers at Harmony. She crochets, she knits, and she designs patterns. Allison has taught several crochet classes at Harmony; this Saturday she will be teaching an intermediate crochet class all about Granny Squares from 2-4 p.m. for just $15! There’s still time to sign up if you would like to join this class, and for a few reasons why, just read her guest post below:

My beloved grandmother taught me to crochet on a very long summer car vacation along the East Coast the summer I turned 10 years old. The first thing she taught me? How to crochet a granny square.

House 8810

I didn’t crochet again until I was an adult, but now that I’ve crocheted for the last 10 years, granny squares have come to embody all that I love about crochet. The infinite possibilities that emerge with color or yarn choice, the versatility and possibilities of design, and maybe most importantly, the love which is passed on through something handmade to someone important.

Purl Bee

Recently there has been an upsurge of interest in granny squares and all things vintage. Really talented designers are re-imagining the granny square in very modern ways. Startling and modern color combinations, different shapes and interesting interpretations are all over the web. Granny stripes, granny chevron ripples, granny triangles, circles, hexagons, or pentagons, and even two-color granny half square diagonals are being turned into afghans, pillows, hats, bags, sweaters, scarves – you name it!

Attic 24

Thankfully the very pleasing and very practical original granny square with it’s wonderful color unpredictability is back in vogue. Popularized as a way to use up bits of left-over yarn, crafty folk over the years have turned to the granny square whenever economic times get tough. Thankfully, the granny square and all it’s variations is here to stay.

Don’t miss our lace class taught by Tracy Willburn tonight from 6:30-7:30. The featured project is the lace scarf pictured at left. (Even beginning knitters can experience the joys of knitting lace!) The cost is only $10 and supplies are 20% off for class participants. Any yarn and needles will do, but we love Rowan Kidsilk Haze and Casade’s Kid Seta.

At 7:30 we will have our bimonthly knit night. See what others are knitting and come check out the gorgeous new yarns that have arrived in the past couple weeks!

Lace Knitting Workshop—Come learn the intricacies of lace in this one-hour workshop. We will do a simple one-row lace scarf suitable for even beginning knitters. Bring yarn and needles you are comfortable working with—any weight yarn will do. Come and enjoy!
Thurs., March 21, 6:30-7:30 p.m. $10 Tracy Willburn

Alison will be teaching a workshop on Entrelac from 6.30-7.30 (before knit night) this coming Thursday March 7th. The cost of the workshop is $10 per person. If you would like to attend, please call the store to register. Alison is a friend of Harmony & a regular at our knit night. She also helped set up our blog.

What is Entrelac? …a knitting technique in which a series of small diamond shapes are knit and joined along the way, producing a beautiful effect that appears like a basket-weave.

I first came across Entrelac many years ago when my Gran who was a very accomplished knitter made herself a cardigan incorporating Entrelac panels in front. We lived more than an hour’s drive away, and each time we visited Gran she would proudly show us her latest projects. She seemed particularly excited about trying this new technique, and was delighted with the final result, which was elegant and stylish, and she loved to wear it. So I when I bookmarked the Entrelac Scarf pattern, I did it with a little bit of the same enthusiasm.

This pattern is a great place to start knitting Entrelac – this is where we will begin in our workshop. The suggested yarn is Noro Silk Garden and I think the combination of this technique with the beautiful color progressions of the yarn complement each other perfectly. The instructions are easy to follow, and it doesn’t take long to realise that although this technique appears complex, it is much simpler to achieve than you might expect. Its definitely worth a try. You may even find it “as addictive as chocolate.” (This is how knitters on the Ravelry Entrelac discussion board described it); “When you make one square, you’ll think, ‘Just one more’.” Very true. I certainly found it satisfying and was very pleased with the outcome.